Alyssa Naeher grew up in Connecticut with hoop dreams. The talented multi-sport athlete “prayed every morning”, she once disclosed, to one day play for legendary UConn women’s college basketball coach Geno Auriemma, and then take her talents to the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
An elite high school basketball player, Naeher scored more than 2,000 points at Christian Heritage School, where her father John was the athletic director. But it was in football that the 5ft 9ins goalkeeper found her true passion, as she earned call-ups to the USA U-16 and U-17 teams prior to being recruited to Penn State University.
Naeher got her big break at the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup Chile 2008™, where she conceded just one goal in six matches en route to the title and the adidas Golden Glove. But after turning professional soon after, her rapid rise hit a roadblock as she was forced to wait in the wings for a place on the senior team, with Hope Solo having a firm grip on the No1 jersey and Ashlyn Harris also ahead in the pecking order.
She was invited to her first senior camp in 2009 but did not make her full international debut until 2014. Impatience gradually turned to frustration, and while there was joy in securing a FIFA Women’s World Cup™ winners’ medal at Canada 2015, Naeher did not see a minute of action at the global finals.
When Solo left the team following the 2016 Rio Olympics, Naeher seized her opportunity. Embarking on a long and successful run under Jill Ellis and then Emma Hayes, she earned 115 caps and collected winners’ medals at the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ and Women’s Olympic Football Tournament 2024 Paris, as well as bronze at Tokyo 2020 and a host of continental titles.
For her efforts during her final season with the Stars in Stripes in 2024, she was named US Soccer’s Female Player of the Year, becoming just the second keeper to win the prestigious award behind Solo, as well as earning The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper prize.
In something of a full-circle moment, Naeher is being honoured by US Soccer with a retirement ceremony prior to USA’s match with Portugal at Rentschler Field in Hartford, Connecticut on Sunday in front of her friends and family. Ahead of this, the 37-year-old spoke to FIFA about winning the Women’s World Cup, reflections on her career and scoring her first goal during a game.
Alyssa Naeher: We were unfortunately losing the game and, as most teams do, you throw everybody forward into the box. It was the last play of the game. I got up there and tried to get into the mix, get in the way a little bit and create chaos. The ball fell to right where I was standing and I just finished it.
No, I never really thought about it. It usually comes from a desperate moment of losing at the end of the game. I definitely didn’t think that was going to be something done in my career.
We all work on it the same way, knowing that there is always a possibility of when you go into a shootout you never know how many kickers it’s going to take, how long it’s going to be. We [as goalkeepers] train the same as regular field players anytime we’re in a tournament setting.
You always want to be on the field, obviously. But my mindset in that [experience] was just trying to learn as much as I could in the moment… learn about the international game and learn about what it took to be successful at this level. I was trying to make sure I stayed ready so that whenever my opportunity was going to come, I wanted to make sure I could take advantage on it and not let it slip by.
You work hard to get the opportunity, so I certainly wanted to make sure that I was holding on to it. The mentality stays as you’re going, you’re just trying to get better and better every single day and keep [doing] what got you there.
Absolutely. It was a very magical summer in a lot of ways. We had a really special group – we had been together a lot as a group and that’s always nice when you get the reward of winning. I have a lot of fond memories looking back on 2019.
I would say the most remembered game would be the semi-final against England (in 2019). That encompassed all the training and biding our time… it all culminated into that one game. That was the one that stands out the most.
I’m still playing professionally, so I think I will reflect more once the day comes when I am fully done. I look back very fondly upon my career, I played with a lot of incredible team-mates, had a lot of good experiences. And to be able to be on the team for as long as I was… and the people you meet along the way is what I remember the most looking back on things. It’s the people and the experiences.
I’m not sure yet. I haven’t made any decisions about that. I’m taking that as it goes. I still feel good playing-wise, so I’m always reevaluating and checking in on myself and how I am feeling and what-not. I haven’t set any particular time frame in my mind.
Not sure yet. I’m always seeing what opportunities there might be and what makes me happy off the field. Nothing set yet in terms of what is going to come.
